Is my dog pretending or really sick?

Question

My dog is limping with alternating legs. She's completely fine at first, but she would suddenly tremble and puts her leg up. She would alternate the leg from left hind leg to right hind leg (and sometimes even to her fore-legs alternatively as well) as if she forgot which leg she was having problem with. We massaged her leg and she is able to walk again. Is she pretending or is she really sick?

Thank you everyone for your fast response. I actually forgot to put in the most basic detail of my dog.

She's a Pomeranian, 5 years old. Didn't have any of those leg problems in the past and just started during the past year.

Whenever she has these "attacks", she would pull the leg up from the floor. The trembling isn't really severe (visually) until you hold her and notice that she is trembling. She does look frightened whenever those attacks takes place. She usually return to normal after 5 to 10 minutes. She doesn't have these attacks all the time, and it's completely random whenever these attacks do take place. (She's usually sitting or lying down when those attacks takes place)

In terms of her diet, we give her those dried dog food that comes in bags of 5KG. Sometimes we give her a little bit of human food as a treat, like vegetables and sorts. She did suffer from pancreas problem in the past due to over-feeding. But nothing more than that.

Answer 1

It sounds like Canine Pattella Luxation, which is common in small breeds, and many Labradors,and birding dogs suffer from it too....As she is limping on front legs as well, it very well may be a spinal misalignment, perhaps caused by the Canine Pattella Luxation..She limps on different legs to allow each one to rest.....A vet would be able to tell you to what extent she is able to be helped.
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Answer 2

I am one who believes that one must address the physical problem before considering a problem psychological.
You didn't mention what breed of dog you are asking the question about, so I will say that some breeds have genetic problems which this may indicate. Please have your dog checked out by a Veterinarian first ( for a diagnosis) . The veterinarian will likely suggest medications if this is indeed arthritis. From that point you can decide if you want to go with traditional medicine or holistic etc.
Dogs are known to react to pain in many ways, shivering and panting are two of the ways.
I would not advise using over the counter medications without a diagnosis as the dog will be subjected to symptoms worsening if the wrong medication is chosen.
A dog is equivalent to a perpetual 2 year old human child..........think of what you would do if this were your toddler!

Answer 3

I'm not sure I've ever heard of a dog pretending to have an injury for attention, though I suppose it is a possibility. The one thing that worries me is that if it's not just acting, then it could be some sort of nerve injury or disease, which could realistically seem to switch legs, especially if it is based somewhere in the spinal cord. The trembling bit is what really makes me suspect this. If it persists for more than say, a day or two, you really should take her to the vet just to make sure.

Answer 4

She could be having mussle tremors, or she could have epilepse. So it could be a number of things, but it depends on your dog. I have a dog that will FAKE injuries to get babied. Once she jumped off the bed and started limping around like she was dying so we took her to the vet and he found nothing wrong so when we took her back home we set up my camcorder and watched her from outside and once she thought that we were gone she was up running around playing with her toys with NO limp. When she heard us come up on the porch she went and layed down and then she started limping again. So dont believe someone when they say that dogs cant FAKE injuries. They are smarter then what a lot of people give them credit for. If I were you I would keep a close eye on her and take her to the vet it is always better to be safe than sorry. good luck and merry christmas.

Answer 5

Hi Nox!!!
You can not treat this at home; she needs a vet as soon as possible.

Some of the common things that could have caused this problem include; artheritis, a sting or a splinter of something embedded in her foot, infection, dysplasia, if there is a significant dislocation, (and this isn’t even a complete list if that gives you any idea of how many different things can have the symptoms you are describing.)

Do an x-ray of the leg (cost - $40 at my vet).

Most likely she will need medication (antibiotics, rimadyl or cosequin ect or so forth depending on the problem.)

I am sorry !!!. Lots of luck!!!
Jason Homan

Answer 6

How old is the dog?Does she get calcium supplements in her food?Is it a big dog?Still growing?The trembling I have seen in Doberman puppies,and the periodic limping too,while they were growing up,called "rickets",with bumps on their joints and all the shaking and trembling from time to time.High quality puppyfood and calcium supplements seem to help get them over this.If this is an adult dog,you need to see a veterinarian about this.She may have a problem an examination can show,and then you'll know how to treat it.

Answer 7

My thoughts are ,to get the dog to a vet to have the problem
addressed by someone more qualified than you or I.
Sounds to me that she has some serious joint problems.Perhaps
so,arthritis,or,perhaps she's gotten an injury that's caused some
nerve damage.
It certainly sounds like an injury to me.Get it checked out.

Answer 8

Not really likely that she is pretending. She may have pain in all her joints, but just limps on whichever one hurts the most at any given time. Having arthritis pain myself, I can say different joints ache with different levels of pain at different times.

Answer 9

Dogs really do not fake an injury or illness. I would recommend that you have your dog seen by her vet. Good Luck.

Answer 10

Dogs don't know how to fake injuries. I would assume she's really sick and take her to the vet ASAP to avoid further injury.